I met Kyle and Melissa when they were in town from NYC - they came over to our house one summer evening for a beer and a chat on the deck and we bonded over a mutual affinity for delicious foods. (NOTE: if anyone wants to have a "beer client meeting" I think those are more fun than coffee. You can come to my house, have a beer with me and my husband, Paul, and chat about your wedding. That sounds fun, right?)

What I like about Kyle and Melissa is their authenticity. While they were inspired by images culled from the internet, they ultimately set out to create their own story, with design elements special and unique to them. They also won me over with their wedding inquiry questionnaire. I send out a questionnaire to everyone that contacts me about wedding flowers to gather the specifics - when, where, how many - the must know basics. I also ask more touchy feely questions, like the mood you want to evoke, how you want your guests to feel, what are the textures and colors that get you going. Also - your one true love. How did you meet? What do you love about him or her? What do you do together? When I received an entire love story from Kyle on how he fell for Melissa, I knew I had to share it with the world (thanks for allowing me to.) Kyle's excitement for marrying his dream girl oozed through the internet into my heart and this is the reason I do this. Thanks for reminding me.

I met Melissa in September of 2008. I had just graduated college and spent the summer waiting tables at a little restaurant in my hometown in Northern Wisconsin. I was excited to be moving to Washington, D.C., to participate in a journalism program and intern in the Houston Chronicle’s news bureau. I guess you have to define the word “meet.” We were in the same room together for the first time for one of our twice-a-week seminars. But I was too nervous to talk to her. I remember feeling overwhelmed and just completely blown away by how beautiful she looked. I finally mustered up the courage to talk to her later in that first week, when a group of us went out to explore the city on a Friday night. I told her I was from Wisconsin, she told me she was from California. I told her I wanted to write about politics, she told me she wanted to write about music. I told her I had a brother and sister, she told me she had a brother. From that first conversation, I knew she was going to be someone special in my life. We started hanging out on nights and weekends, then we ended up spending Thanksgiving in New York together, and by the time it was December, we had committed to being in a long-distance relationship with one another. She was going to move back to California to finish her last semester of college, and I was going to move back to Wisconsin while I looked for a full-time job. When September of 2009 rolled around, we were back in Washington D.C., living in our first apartment together. We don’t ever let anyone else see it, but when we’re alone together, we can be really silly. I love that about Melissa—that we can be totally at ease and completely comfortable with one another. I never feel like I have to be anyone other than myself, and she loves and fully accepts me for who I am, even with my—many, many, many—flaws. She teaches me to be more humble, more forgiving, and more loving every day. She’s my best friend, and I feel so lucky to have her. She’s often my voice of reason, and sometimes my voice of restraint. She’ll tell me, “Don’t get so upset about something so silly,” or “Don’t eat that third biscuit.” She looks out for me in all the ways that I can’t or won’t on my own, and I’m happier and healthier because of it. But she knows how to surprise me, too, whether it’s with theater tickets or ice cream. We like spending our time in the same ways. Our idea of a great Friday night is sitting at home and watching a movie. We love taking weekend road trips, listening to episodes of This American Life along the way. We love exploring the city—first D.C., now New York—together, whether it’s visiting museums, eating at restaurants, or just walking around different neighborhoods. And we both love cooking, experimenting with unfamiliar cuisines and trying interesting new dishes. 